Pine Snake

Pituophis melanoleucus, commonly known as the eastern pine snake, is a species of nonvenomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to the southeastern United States. Three subspecies are traditionally recognized as being valid, though taxonomic changes may be occurring.

Taxonomy and etymology

The pine snake, Pituophis melanoleucus, gets its specific name from the Latin roots melano- meaning black and leucus meaning white. This is in reference to its black-and-white body. Following an influential study that occurred in 2000, three subspecies of Pituophis melanoleucus have been recognized:

Nominate subspecies P. m. melanoleucus (Daudin, 1803), the northern pine snake;

P. m. lodingi Blanchard, 1924, the black pine snake; and

P. m. mugitus Barbour, 1921, the Florida pine snake.

The subspecific name lodingi is in honor of Danish-born amateur herpetologist Peder Henry Löding (1869–1942), who lived in Alabama.

The species has a variety of common names, including: pine snake, pinesnake, common pine snake, bullsnake, black and white snake, carpet snake, chicken snake, common bullsnake, eastern bullsnake, eastern pine snake, horn(ed) snake, New Jersey pine snake, North American pine snake, northern pine snake, pilot snake, and white gopher snake.

Taxonomic challenges

By the nature of the field, taxonomists — those who study taxonomy — often disagree on specific classifications of species. These disagreements extend to Pituophis melanoleucus, whose taxonomic status - specifically, the differentiation of three subspecies - has been challenged. One proponent of a taxonomic revision to eliminate the subspecies classifications is the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, whose list of amphibians and reptiles was updated in the 9th edition to eliminate the subspecies distinction following a 2021 study "that showed P. melanoleucus to consist of continuous populations that did not correspond to previously recognized subspecies." Another review of scientific literature found that two genomic analyses in 2022 and 2023 showed that "subspecific taxonomy does not reflect the evolutionary history of the species." While this could suggest that the taxonomical classification of Pituophis melanoleucus is changing or will imminently change, the subspecies classification developed in 2000 was used in scientific literature as recently as May 2025.

Description

Adults of Pituophis melanoleucus are large, growing to 48–90 in (120–230 cm) in total length (tail included) and are powerfully built. The head is small and somewhat pointed with an enlarged rostral scale that extends upward between the internasal scales. Usually, four prefrontal scales are seen. At midbody are 27–37 rows of keeled dorsal scales. The anal plate is single. The color pattern consists of a light ground color overlaid with black, brown, or reddish-brown blotches.

Geographic range and habitat